Thirty Shards
by HardlyFatal
Summary: Series of 30 ficlets for the 30shards LJ community: the progression of Kagome's relationship with Kouga from... well, what were they, anyway? DROPPED
1. 18 Gift

Part 1: Gift

by CinnamonGrrl

"I brought something for you." Kouga seemed to appear out of thin air this time, arriving so quickly that Kagome's human hearing hadn't even suspected his approach.

"You do?" she asked, a little breathless from surprise as she got to her feet. "For me?"

"Of course!" Kouga replied, handing over a small, lumpy package wrapped in large brown leaves and tied with string. "My woman deserves to be given presents."

Kagome blushed, both at the gift in her hands and the reminder that he considered her 'his woman'. "Um, thank you!" she said, plucking nervously at the string. She'd just been sitting beneath a tree by a stream, enjoying a bit of time to herself, and suddenly he was there. She pressed her cool hands to her glowing cheeks to compose herself and steadfastly ignored Kouga's grin at her actions.

He leaned closer, extending a claw. "Here, let me help," he said quietly, and the lower pitch of his voice made something clench within Kagome, somewhere between her neck and her waist.

Effortlessly, his claw parted the string, and he took one end between two fingers, pulling on it until it slid sinuously free of the package. Kagome found herself staring at the string as it slithered free, then following it to where its end was held captive by Kouga's fingers, and swallowed hard.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered, face flaming once more, and absolutely would _not_ look at him as she began peeling back the leaves. Within was a mass of salmon-pink fabric, tightly compacted.

"Silk?" she asked, eyes wide, and at his nod and smile began to dig past the leaves in earnest. Once unwrapped and unfolded, she could see it was a kimono of handkerchief silk, fine and floaty and nearly transparent. The only body or heft given to it was provided by the liberal amount of embroidery lavished upon it, green leaves and sprays of lilac twining up the arms and down the lapels and around the hem like a living thing.

"Kouga," Kagome breathed, holding it up and staring in amazement. It was badly crumpled, but she was sure that between her and her mother, they could make it hang flat and smooth again. A breeze rippled the silk, making it undulate like peachy-pink liquid, making the embroidery glisten in the sunlight.

The same breeze ruffled Kouga's bangs as she turned to look at him, and Kagome was swamped with gratitude. "I don't know where I'll ever be able to wear this," she whispered, her throat tight, "but it's the most beautiful thing anyone's ever given me." She launched herself at him, arms tight around his neck, kimono dangling from her fingers. "Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you so much."

His arms came around her, arms that could crush the life out of her in the space between one heartbeat and the next, and she felt him sigh as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. Kagome tried to pull back after a while, but Kouga would not let her go.

"Give _me_ a gift," he said. "Let me hold you for longer."

She pushed against his chest, then relaxed. He wasn't hurting her, wasn't groping her as Miroku might have done, and he was nice and warm, even if the fur he wore smelled a little musty from being rained on all the time.

"Okay," she agreed, letting her arms creep around him again, "but no funny stuff."

His laughter was a heated sigh over her neck and ear, and Kagome shivered involuntarily, making him laugh again. "No funny stuff," he promised, gathering her even more closely.

They stood there for what seemed to be a long time, the moment stretching and lengthening. Kagome let her cheek rest against the slice of skin left bare above his armour, and became aware of the steady thrumming of his heart as his big hands rubbed soothing patterns over her back. She wondered if she should object or something, but true to his word, those hands weren't straying below her waist or around to her front.

His claws tangled in her hair, and he pulled gently, tilting her head back. For a long, terrifying second Kagome was convinced he would kiss her, but he did nothing.

"No," Kouga told her, "I'm not going to kiss you. Not yet." He flashed a grin at her, fangs glinting. "I'll wait until I know you'll kiss me back."

Kagome detangled herself from him and stepped back until her back was against the tree trunk. "I don't think that's ever going to happen," she informed him, a trifle sadly, even. She hated to think of him pining for her. "Inuyasha—"

"—is a moron," Kouga finished swiftly. He grabbed her hands and lifted them to his mouth, one at a time, brushing his lips over the soft skin on the back of them before releasing them. "Here's some advice for you, Kagome."

Kagome waited, but he didn't continue, his gaze flicking over her shoulder to something behind her. When he did speak, his voice was calm and assured and very, very serious.

"You might think Fate has a plan for you, but you don't have to go along with it." He traced a claw-tip down the peachy curve of her cheek. "Don't get swept away by what you think is meant to be."

Kagome frowned. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, but he didn't answer, just wheeled away and took off. "You're gonna explain yourself next time, buster!" she shouted after the cloud of whirling dust left in his wake, shaking her fist.

"Come back to camp, Kagome," Inuyasha said behind her, sounding strangely subdued.

She turned, frowning. "Did you hear that last part?" she asked. At his nod, she continued, "What did he mean by it?" She huffed. "I'm confused."

He steered her toward the tiny path leading to where the others had settled in for the night. "Don't worry about it," Inuyasha told her gruffly. "I'll handle it."

Kagome hummed in agreement, her attention turned back to her companions. Inuyasha glanced backward at where Kouga had gone, unsettled, and rested his hand possessively in the small of Kagome's back as he followed her into camp.

Sango exclaimed over the beauty of the kimono, and Miroku expressed his desire to see Kagome wearing it (thus earning himself twin slaps on the face). Inuyasha leapt into a tree to sit watch for the night, especially alert since there was a wolf in the area.

He would get no sleep.


	2. 19 Jealousy

**_Shard #19: Jealousy_**  
Title: Dragon in Paradise  
Ship: Kouga/Kagome  
Rating: PG  
Squicks: none I can think of  
Word count: 200 exactly, not counting the quote

"Jealousy is the dragon in paradise; the hell of heaven." --A.R. Orage

Inuyasha stands between them, as if he has a right to be there. He's angry, shouting, and that makes Kouga's blood sing with the urge to fight, to claw and rend and tear his way to Kagome.

She's standing behind Inuyasha, hands on his shoulders, the only thing holding him back. It's not through physical force she does this, of course, but the strength of the emotional hold she has on him.

_On us all,_ Kouga thinks, not too surprised by the bitterness he feels at this. Sometimes, when yearning for Kagome threatens to choke him, he almost resents her. He hasn't belonged to himself since he began to love her.

He doesn't _want_ to love her. She's human, and mortal, and naïve, but her face is so open and pretty, and that skirt of hers is so very short. He loves her face, loves that skirt, even loves her naiveté.

More than anything, though, he loves when she calls him Kouga-kun in that breathy little voice of hers, and Inuyasha turns purple with fury.

So he takes her hands and smiles when the hanyou growls. She beams up at him, says his name. Enraged, Inuyasha turns purple.

It's enough.


	3. 26 Travel

**Shard 26 – Travel**

_Words: 157_

Kagome wonders if youkai know the priviledge they have, being able to jump and run so very quickly. Powerful legs propel them up, up, bounding lightly into the sky so that the wind whistles in the ears and pinkens the cheeks.

Kagome thinks she is very lucky, being on good enough terms with several youkai and thus able to snatch moments like this, moments of pure joy, borrowed seconds when she can fly like any bird, untethered, weightless.

Kagome knows she should feel indignant, now that Kouga has snatched her up and leapt away, now that Inuyasha is chasing them, screaming all the way. But the the wind pushes its fingers into her hair, and she can't quite bring herself to be anything but grateful that the wolf-demon has given her the chance to fly once more.

Kagome turns her face forward, and when Kouga springs off the end of a cliff into a freefall, she smiles.


End file.
